Russian Troops in Chaos as Telegram, Starlink Cut Off

Russian soldiers on the front lines are struggling to communicate after Telegram messaging was throttled nationwide and Starlink internet terminals failed, leaving units paralyzed and triggering deadly incidents of friendly fire.

“The front is in shock… Starlinks are dead, Telegram is jammed – how are we supposed to fight? With pigeons?” a Russian propagandist Ivan Utenkov wrote on Tuesday.

Russian users reported widespread Telegram outages for a second day on Feb. 10, with Downdetector logging more than 11,000 complaints over 24 hours.

Roskomnadzor, Russia’s state censorship and communications watchdog, reportedly began slowing the app nationwide.

Founded by Russian-born tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov, Telegram is popular across Russia and Eastern Europe.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov tried to downplay the issue, saying that Telegram is unlikely to be a primary tool for frontline communication.

“I don’t think it’s conceivable that frontline communication is carried out via Telegram or any other messenger. It’s hard to imagine and impossible… specialists should speak on this,” he told reporters.

In response, Russian volunteer Thirteenth challenged Peskov’s statement, saying that “blocking Telegram is like shooting yourself in the foot.”

“Dear Dmitry Sergeyevich [Peskov], as a serviceman and participant in the special military operation, I will tell you the truth. Often, not only communication and battle command, but also logistics, collection, and delivery of humanitarian aid are carried out via Telegram,” the volunteer wrote.

“And that’s not even counting a variety of other tasks; sometimes, even artillery fire adjustments are done through Telegram. Essentially, blocking Telegram is like shooting yourself in the foot to wake yourself up,” he added.

The clampdown follows a larger pattern. Since August 2025, Roskomnadzor has partially blocked Telegram and WhatsApp calls, citing security concerns.

Russian lawmakers said Telegram channels failed to block “all sorts of nonsense,” while officials warned the platform had been used to recruit civilians for sabotage and terrorist activity.

The blackout has sparked panic among Russian volunteers, propagandists, and military bloggers.

“Roskomnadzor is just enemy accomplices… Ban Telegram, and then I guess we’ll have to use carrier pigeons for military purposes. Humanitarian aid will vanish, and that’s lives of soldiers,” wrote a volunteer under the nickname Thirteenth.

“Roskomnadzor is deliberately sabotaging the special military operation, and no one in the Duma wants to see it,” a user under the nickname Mikhail wrote in the comments on the Two Majors Telegram channel.

Starlink failures are making matters worse. Ukrainian partisans say Russian units in eastern and southern Ukraine cannot communicate, leaving commanders paralyzed.

Backup channels fail, and Russian electronic warfare systems even jam their own radios. One incident in Zaporizhzhia reportedly killed 12 soldiers with friendly fire.

The outages follow a recent decision by SpaceX to disable Starlink terminals used by Russian forces in Ukraine, cutting off internet along an estimated 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) stretch of the front line.

Ukrainian electronic warfare specialist Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov said nearly all Russian frontline units reliant on Starlink have lost the ability to transmit secure data, leaving commanders unable to coordinate attacks.

“Without stable communications on the front line, chaos begins,” commented the Atesh partisan movement. “Russia’s dependence on civilian technology has turned against it. Once communications disappear, command collapses, and troops begin destroying themselves.”

Journalist and frontline veteran Yuri Butusov summed it up: “After Telegram and Starlink, Russia will cut off the internet. So, they will talk less nonsense.”